


A Choice Unseen

by Rellanka



Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [17]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: ABO dynamics, Alpha Vincent Valentine, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blink and you'll miss it AerTi, M/M, Omega Cloud Strife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:13:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23845777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rellanka/pseuds/Rellanka
Summary: When his suppressants begin to run out, Cloud has some choices to make. He doesn't make very good ones.
Relationships: Cloud Strife/Vincent Valentine
Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697269
Comments: 17
Kudos: 280





	A Choice Unseen

**Author's Note:**

> This is set a little bit after the team defeats Sephiroth, so technically before AC and DOC. But considering the changes I'm making here those bits of canon would be a little bit different after how this story ends, for obvious reasons. **Compilation spoilers** : ~~(There is also a very slight reference to Aerith having lived in this verse, but it could also just be her and Tifa continuing their relationship after Aerith's death, because nothing could separate them here.)~~
> 
> Second try with this, considering that I accidentally deleted this fic while trying to edit.
> 
> #Cloud doesn't always make the best choices  
> #Slight references to multiple onesided instances of Cloud/Others  
> #Which is pretty accurate to Remake canon so...

Cloud looked down at the pill in his hand and then looked back at the bottle. It was nearly empty, with the pill he was holding being one of only seven left.

How? How had he allowed it to get this far? Yes, there had been Sephiroth and Jenova to take care of, but with how vital it was he still should have kept track of how many suppressants he had. 

Cloud had been on these suppressants since he was a child, and had never had a heat without them, excluding that first disastrous one. (Also excluding the time he’d spent in the lab, but Cloud absolutely refused to allow himself to remember any part of that time. Even the hint of the memories caused his stomach to roll over on itself and his entire body to tense like it was readying itself for a desperate attempt of flight or fight.) 

Which is what made it so bad that he only had five pills left now. These were Shinra-produced suppressants, and while Shinra hadn’t been totally destroyed, with the amount of facilities that Shinra had lost after Meteorfall due to destruction or sheer loss of funding, production of these suppressants had stopped and it was doubtful that they were going to be producing any more for a while. 

And it was equally doubtful that any local pharmacies would just happen to have old shipments of these pills in stock, knowing Cloud’s luck. 

He could try other suppressants, but—that hadn’t worked well for him in the past, and he wasn’t looking forward to going through the process of trying to find a compatible suppressant again.

Still, what other option did he have at this point?

A small, tiny part of him whispered that he could find an Alpha to help him, but the thought was discarded as soon as it came. The one Alpha Cloud was interested in deserved better than him, and Cloud wasn’t willing to complicate his friendships by appealing to a friend’s kindness and watching him have to do something the man likely very much didn’t want to. Seeking out help from strangers wasn’t something he was even willing to consider. He’d been betrayed enough to not be willing to be that vulnerable with someone he didn’t trust.

There was Andrea, who Cloud had been glad had survived past Meteorfall, and succeed well after picking himself back up after it, but... Not even Cloud was naïve enough to be unable to see that the Alpha had some level of feelings for him, and it wouldn’t be fair to get Andrea’s help when Cloud’s heart already belonged to someone else. 

So suppressant hunting it was, and he had better start researching and trying to remember the past suppressants that had had particularly bad effects on him, because he only had a handful of days to get this done. 

***

It was really too bad that the internet was currently a thing of the past for most people, now, the organization Reeve had started focusing more on getting telephones working than being worried about internet for everyone. It was understandable, but it did make getting information on things that much harder. Cloud was forced to turn to medical journals, and every time he actually saw the books his skin crawled. Graphs of people’s inner organs gave him flashbacks to laughing (were they laughing? Or was that just his imagination?) scientists peeling back his skin and peering in. 

Every time, he would have to shove the book away and go do something else, something like go hunting for monsters terrorizing people, or long, mindless drives on endless backroads. Occasionally he would go racing with Roche, another surprising- but not unwelcome- survivor of Meteorfall. And unfortunately, another Alpha who Cloud couldn’t turn to for help because of the likelihood of feelings complicating things. 

More than anything else, though, he found himself seeking out Vincent. Just going to wherever the man was and soaking in his presence, offering his help if Vincent was currently busy with something, and just silently sitting by him if he wasn’t. He cursed himself for it, because he knew what he was doing. Knew that the Omega part of him was seeking out the Alpha that they wanted. Knew that that’s why Vincent’s presence was so comforting.

But with his supply of working suppressants so frightfully low and growing lower by the day, Cloud allowed himself the indulgence. Better to at least have his Omega side in as pacified state as possible when he tried out new suppressants. **Much** better when he still didn’t have enough information to accurately judge how those suppressants would affect him. 

It was to his luck that Vincent was such a good friend, and that he didn’t seem to mind Cloud popping up and spending hours at a time with him. In fact, he seemed almost… Cloud didn’t want to say happy, because he knew that it would get his Omega’s side hopes up (and maybe his own, if he were being honest) but Cloud honestly didn’t know if he had another word for it. Happy, or pleased, or whatever, Vincent’s general attitude to Cloud’s increased presence was definitely positive, and that thrilled Cloud more than he liked to admit. 

But eventually it came to the day that he would have to make a decision. 

He had only two days’ worth of suppressants remaining, and he would rather save them for emergencies than use them all up and be without any recourse later. 

Cloud sighed as he looked at the table before him, staring at the different bottles of pills, each a different type of suppressant. As a drug that was largely over the counter, several of the bottles had colorful designs in an attempt to catch an Omega’s eye, one bottle even having a picture of a smiling person, probably Omega, on its side. 

Cloud avoided the bottle with a grimace, instead reaching for a more demurely designed bottle, one that the research he was able to do suggested was best for Omega’s that had difficult heats. 

Sighing and popping the pill into his mouth and swallowing it without ceremony, Cloud was resolving to see how it went and hoping that he managed find a good match on his first try, when suddenly things started going wrong. 

A wave of dizziness hit him as his throat started feeling tight and he was just beginning to panic over how difficult it was to breathe when he lost consciousness and knew no more.

***

He didn’t really dream of anything, while he swam in that deep, dark layer of unconsciousness. There were times when he almost seemed to float up, closer to the surface and the sound of panicked voices and later beeping machines, but those were rare and somehow the sounds seemed so far away. At some point the feeling of compatible Alpha, **his** Alpha, appeared near his side and never really left. His Omega comforted and feeling safe, he sunk back under, trusting his Alpha to watch over him until he was ready to wake up.

He couldn’t tell you how long it was before he did finally awaken, but when he finally did he was in his own bed in the new building that Tifa had claimed for her bar. He moaned slightly as he blinked his eyes open, the sunlight from the windows nearly blinding him before things finally started coming into focus. 

He kind of wished they hadn’t at the sight that greeted him. Tifa was sitting by his side, frowning at him, her Alpha pheromones sending out displeasure, traces of old panic and worry still lingering as a sour after note within them. 

“You had a major allergic reaction.” Tifa said abruptly, apparently deciding to cut past all the pleasantries of asking how he was and skip right to lecturing him, “You had a major allergic reaction _because you decided that instead of telling someone your suppressants were running out you would just play Russian Roulette to find some new ones._ You could have **died** Cloud! If it wasn’t for your enhancements, you probably would have! Do you even have any idea how **worried** we all were!” 

Her voice went slightly shrill, and she was practically drowning the room in distressed pheromones at this point, causing his Omega to shrink and whine at displeasing their pack Alpha to this extent. 

After a few moments of Tifa breathing hard and Cloud doing his best to sink into the bedding below him, Cloud finally cleared his throat, “Tifa, I’m sorry. You’re right, I have no excuse for this. I probably should have at least let you know. I just… didn’t want to bother you.” 

Tifa’s shoulders slumped, and she looked a little defeated as she sat there, “Cloud, when will you realize that you’re my friend, my family, my **pack** , and I care about you? I know that you lost your old pack in the worst way possible, and it’s hard. But I can’t help you like you need me to unless you actually talk to me.”

Cloud ducked his head even further, “I know that, Tifa. I know. I’m sorry.” 

Tifa sighed deeply and shook her head as if she was shaking the entire situation off, reaching out to run her hand gently through his hair, his Omega preening under their pack Alpha’s comforting touch. “There’s nothing to be done for it now, and I forgive you. Just please, _please_ come to me if something like this happens again.”

Cloud opened his mouth eagerly, and then hesitated. He wanted to make this right with his pack Alpha so badly, but he also knew himself. He couldn’t make a promise that he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep. Instead, he offered the best that he could. 

“I’ll try.” He said simply, staring down at his blanket and hating himself for not being able to offer more.

Tifa sighed again deeply, “That’s the best I’ll get, I guess.” She said with a frustration that carried hints of deep affection. “But we still need to work out your suppressant situation.” 

Cloud nodded. The fact that he had such a strong reaction was deeply troubling, and something that didn’t need to be repeated. Definitely on the list of things he would rather not experience again. While it wasn’t at the top, it was somewhere near there. A little below ‘fighting Sephiroth again’, probably. 

“If you’d just asked me for help, this could have been avoided. You had a bad reaction to that same suppressant as a kid, too. I remember you missing school over it.” Tifa continued. 

Cloud frowned. He hadn’t remembered that. It would just figure that that memory would have been one of the ones lost for good. 

“Anyway, the doctor has you on a specialty blend of suppressants right now considering your state, but it isn’t really one you can take every day. We either need to find one that works, or…” Tifa hesitated.

“Or?” Cloud asked with narrowed eyes. 

“ **Or** you can have an Alpha help you with your heats.” Tifa finished explosively.

Cloud shook his head, “Tifa, no. I know where you’re going with this, and it won’t work. You helping me with my heat is only going to cause complications between us, not to mention the harm it will do to your relationship with Aerith. I can’t let that happen, no matter what. I won’t.” 

Tifa frowned but seemed to realize that the matter was closed. That didn’t mean that she was done trying to convince him to get help from somewhere, though. 

“Then Barret-“ 

But Cloud had already considered that, and while he knew that his friend would take care of him well, it wouldn’t work in the end, because, “Barret’s a romantic. It doesn’t matter that he isn’t interested in me right now, if he starts helping me with my heats, he’s going to grow attached and want something deeper. No.”

“You’re attracted to him, at least a little. I know you are. Maybe him getting attached wouldn’t be so bad.” Tifa said carefully. 

“Barret’s a handsome man, of course I’m attracted to him. And he’ll make a great Alpha for the Omega he chooses. But my Omega’s already set on someone, Tifa. Knowing that I’m his mate but that my Omega is secretly yearning for someone else will kill him. Maybe not right away, but eventually it will. It would kill any Alpha.”

Tifa looked nervous at that. “Is it… is your Omega… is it longing for someone who’s… died?” she asked delicately. 

But Cloud knew what she really meant. Was his Omega longing for Sephiroth?

Cloud shook his head, glad that he could be honest about this, at least, “No. Whatever I and Sephiroth once had… even my Omega wants nothing to do with him, now.” 

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at him with a furrowed brow, “Then who?” 

“We don’t really need to know, do we?” Vincent’s deep voice suddenly sounded through the room, causing both Cloud and Tifa to jump. 

(What was the saying about speaking of the devil? Whatever it was, Cloud was pretty sure that it was just that much more ironic when referring to Vincent, considering that he did actually have devils inside of him. As it was, Cloud was just wondering how Vincent had made himself so unnoticeable up to this point when Cloud’s omega was usually attuned to his location like a compass. All of that Turk training, probably.)

“All we need to do is find an Alpha that’s willing to help Cloud even knowing that he will be longing for someone else. And you have one right here.” Vincent continued. 

Cloud was hit several conflicting emotions, all at once. His Omega’s delight at their chosen Alpha offering to take care of him, his Omega’s worry over the fact that his Alpha didn’t seem worried over him longing for someone else, his own reflexive (and unwanted) hurt over that same thing, and an instant fear over Vincent knowing that he wanted someone. It would only be all too easy for the man to match Cloud’s hidden feelings to his pattern of behavior lately and come to the correct conclusion. 

Cloud abruptly turned his gaze back to Tifa, only to inwardly wince. With the way that she was openly staring at him, Tifa had obviously read his expression enough to at least have some of an idea as to what he was feeling, and who those feelings were for. Fuck. He hoped desperately that Vincent had been unable to do the same. Sending the man a quick glance from behind lowered lashes made it seem like he hadn’t, but Cloud couldn’t be sure.

This just really wasn’t his day, was it? 

“You know,” Tifa suddenly said cheerfully, raising herself up from her chair and obviously having decided to **ruin Cloud’s life** , “Since you apparently **didn’t** listen to me when I told you to go home to rest, Vincent, I’m just going to take this opportunity to get some rest of my own while you and Cloud talk, if that’s okay?” She was walking out the door before either of them could reply, “Great, thanks so much! Have a nice talk, you two!” 

And she was gone, just like that.

Cloud really needed to consider getting new friends. 

He sighed and rested his head back against his pillow, closing his eyes. It was really rude, but maybe if he just ignored Vincent he would go away? His Ma would slap his head but good if she could see him now, but Cloud was desperate. 

Not that it really worked, judging from the way that his senses picked up Vincent walking toward Tifa’s abandoned chair and sitting almost delicately on it.

“Cloud, this isn’t something that we can afford to waste time on. I’m sorry for what must have seemed like an unasked for proposition, but if you aren’t willing to allow me to help you, then I could help you find someone else. I know that Elena is-“ 

Cloud was done. He was just done, okay? If he had to hear Vincent suggest one more Alpha to him, he would probably just scream. Maybe this would end in him losing Vincent’s friendship, and maybe that was going to be yet another bleeding emotional wound that he would never fully recover from, but anything was better than sitting there listening to Vincent trying to **find him another Alpha.**

“It’s you.” He snapped abruptly, refusing to open his eyes to see Vincent’s reaction. “You’re the Alpha that my Omega’s set on, so I’m pretty sure that you helping me with my heat would be a really, really bad idea.” 

Vincent was silent for a long moment after that. 

Cloud was just beginning to hope that maybe Vincent would just leave without verbally rejecting him, when Vincent’s voice finally sounded, much deeper than it had been a few minutes previously.

“Actually, if that’s true, I think helping you with your heat would be a wonderful idea.”

“But you didn’t even care when you thought I wanted a different Alpha-“ Cloud began to snap, his eyes widening when he dared a look and took in stock of Vincent. 

The ex-Turk looked like a man who was barely holding on to his restraint, his perfectly still form being betrayed by the war going on behind his eyes and the barely there tremors that wracked through his body and twitching fingers. Finally, he said carefully, “Cloud, I interrupted you because I didn’t dare to know the name of the Alpha that you had set yourself on. **Not** because I didn’t care; but because I worried over what I would do if I **did** know it. Worried that what I would do would be foolish and irreversible. **Never** think that I don’t care. I… if anything, I most likely care more than you would be comfortable with.” 

The way that Vincent was looking at him was… intense. There were so many emotions in that gaze, so strong, so brilliant that even as they took his breath away Cloud wondered how? How could he have not possibly seen it until now when they must have been impossible to hide with as strong as they were? How could he not have realized…?

Vincent smiled wryly, obviously reading some of Cloud’s surprise on his face. (Cloud guessed he was being surprisingly open today.) “I’m very, very good at hiding it when I love someone if I wish to.” Vincent said softly. 

“I’m not so good, or at least I didn’t think I was.” Cloud finally offered a little uncertainly, heart starting to beat fiercely in his chest in longing and hope. 

Vincent smirked a little, a bit of amusement making its way to his crimson-and-gold eyes. “You’re better at it then you think, or I more oblivious then I knew. Perhaps we both could help each other be a little clearer as to how we feel.”

Cloud smiled up at his Alpha, feeling a lot more optimistic about things then he had for… a long while. He daringly reached out to take the Alpha’s hand, heart jumping in his chest as Vincent immediately, almost possessively entwined his fingers with Cloud’s own. 

“Yeah, maybe we can.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Vincent did list Elena off because she is the least likely Alpha he knows to start forming feelings for Cloud and for Cloud to start forming feelings for her. (It’s not impossible, but it is very unlikely in Vincent’s eyes.) And yes, you can bet your ass that Vincent is going to be the one helping Cloud with his heats from now on. The only one that ever will, considering that the man is going to claim Cloud as soon as he feels Cloud wants him to, and Cloud definitely is going to make sure that happens as soon as possible.
> 
> [Here's](https://rellanka.tumblr.com/post/616405881003900928/hey-todays-fic-is-soon-to-be-posted-but-this-is) a link to the post where you can vote for which fic I should post next!


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